SOW_FOR_RFQ.pdf

Request for Quotation SB1341-16-RQ-0454

Statement of Work

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Material Measurement Laboratory’s (MML), Complex Microbial Systems Group (CMSG) provides measurement assurance to support the development of innovative applications in precision medicine, public health, agriculture, and the environment. The CMSG provides measurement assurance for: Advanced technologies for the detection and identification of pathogens in complex backgrounds, characterization of the biological and molecular constituents associated with complex microbial communities, combatting antibiotic resistance, and engineering biology. The CMSG is located at the

NIST site in Gaithersburg, MD.

The Material Measurement Laboratory’s Genome Scale Measurements Group (GSMG) is working to develop standards and understanding in Genomics, Trancscriptomics, and Proteomics with Next Generation Sequencing applications. Over the past decade, synthetic biology, which is the design and construction of biological parts to manipulate and control the function of biological systems towards specific goals, has emerged as an exciting and dynamic field. With new scientific and regulatory opportunities emerging within synthetic biology, NIST has taken a proactive role to be leaders within the field. Towards this aim, the GSMG has been working on developing methods for characterizing the performance of genetic constructs and engineered microbial strains.

The GSMG is primarily located at the NIST Palo Alto site.

To meet mission requirements, the CMSG and the GSMG require two identical flow cytometers each with three laser excitations, 405 nm, 488 nm, and 561 nm, capable of performing measurements on a total of 11 fluorescence channels, plus two scattering channels.

The salient characteristics listed below are required for each of two research grade flow cytometry instruments with future upgrade flexibility, the capability for analysis at multiple excitation wavelengths simultaneously, high sample throughput, a wide range of sample flow rates, and a wide detector dynamic range (6 decades). If these specifications are not met, it will degrade the ability of the CMSG and GSMG to meet the standards development needs of the emerging synthetic biology and engineering biology industries.

Specifically, the requirements for calibrated sample volume delivery, 3 lasers, and 6 decades of resolution are necessary to provide traceability of cell/particle per volume measurements, the ability to integrate multiple wavelengths measurements for built-in standards and process control measurements, and the ability to measure samples with a wide range of gene expression strengths with the same instrument setting, respectively. Many of the other salient characteristics are necessary to provide systems that are sufficiently flexible to allow for measurements across the large variety of cell types used by the synthetic and engineering biology industries.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS

The Contractor shall provide two (2) flow cytometers, Life Technologies Corporation, or equivalent, meeting all of the following salient characteristics:

a. Includes 3 solid-state lasers (405 nm, 488 nm, and 561 nm) and is able to acquire 13 parameters on a single sample: 11 color fluorescence data plus forward and side scatter.

b. The 3 lasers shall intersect the flow cell at spatially separated positions, for improved multi-color compensation.

c. The lasers shall have flat-topped beam profiles for improved reproducibility of laser alignment.

d. Include an autosampler for multi-well plate handling, compatible with standard and deep-well 96 and

384 well plates.

e. The autosampler shall be capable of mixing samples by aspiration before analyses.

f. The instrument and autosampler shall be designed to allow analysis of samples from a tubes or a plate.

g. Permit the adjustment of the photomultiplier gain allowing user control over collection of experimental data.

h. Include a complete compensation matrix that will allow end user to compensate the signal from every channel out of every other channel.

i. The instruments shall be designed to collect height, area, and width measurements on all scatter and fluorescence channels.

j. Capable of analyzing particles and cells as small as 0.5 μm.

k. Permit the adjustment of the optical configuration by the end user without the need for a service engineer by using plug and play dichroic mirrors and band-pass filters, providing greater flexibility in reagent selection.

l. Provide at least 6 decades of resolution and can capture up to 35,000 events/second.

m. Process samples at sample flow rates between 12.5 and 1000 μL per minute.

n. The instrument must be able to be used with 110V.

o. The instrument must have calibrated sample volume delivery, which enables ability to perform absolute cell counts without use of calibrated counting bead products.

p. The instrument shall have a footprint (H x W x D) less than 20 in x 40 in x 20 in, small enough to allow the unit to be placed either on a counter or in a laminar flow hood.

q. The sample tube interface for the flow cytometer shall accommodate sample tubes from 8.8 mm x 45 mm up to 17 mm x 100 mm.

r. Include acquisition software supporting data acquisition, data analysis, and functional control of the instrument.

s. Instruments shall be equipped with computer and monitor allowing visualization of data acquisition and data analysis modules.

t. Each instrument shall include a dongle license (total of two dongles) to software designed to collect and analyze the flow cytometry data.

u. The computer shall have Windows 7 operating system installed, and the software must be compatible with Windows 7.

v. Data from the flow cytometer shall be stored on the computer in standard Flow Cytometry Data 3.1 (FCS

3.1) format.

w. The software shall provide automated start-up and shutdown capability.

x. The software shall provide a sample recovery mode for recovery of unused portion of sample after analysis.

DELIVERY

The two instruments shall be delivered to two different NIST sites:

1. NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899;

2. NIST/Palo Alto, 443 Via Ortega, Shriram Center, Room 240, Stanford, CA 94305.

TRAINING

Upon successful completion of delivery and set-up by NIST personnel, the Contractor shall facilitate training for two (2) NIST personnel, on-site at NIST Gaithersburg, and two (2) NIST personnel, on-site at NIST Palo

Alto.

Each training shall provide an introduction and review of flow cytometry concepts, cytometer instrument systems overview, experiment setup and data acquisition, compensation, post-acquisition analysis tools, single-color and multicolor exercises, advanced software tools, system maintenance, data management, and basic troubleshooting.

Training dates and times shall be coordinated with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) that NIST will identify upon award.

WARRANTY

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a one-year warranty for the equipment. The warranty shall cover all parts, labor and travel. The warranty shall commence upon successful completion of delivery and installation.

DELIVERY

Delivery and training shall be completed not later than 90 days from the date of award. It is anticipated that the equipment will be delivered to both NIST sites 30 days after award. Training shall be completed not later than

30 days after successful completion of the Government’s testing and acceptance of the equipment.

DELIVERABLES

Description Quantity Due Date

Flow cytometer 2 No later than 30 days after receipt of order

Flow cytometer user’s guide 2 No later than 30 days after receipt of order.

On-site flow cytometer training 2 No later than 90 days after award.

TRAVEL

All travel expenses are the responsibility of the contractor and must be included in the total amount of the contract.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Safety: The Contractor employee shall be responsible for knowing and complying with all installation safety prevention regulations. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, fire prevention, and waste disposal.

Security: NIST is a restricted campus. An identification badge is required for access for entry into buildings and also is shown to the armed Security Police when entering the campus.

Regular Business Hours. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern

Time.

Identification Badges: Contractor employees shall comply with NIST identification and access requirements.

Each Contractor employee shall wear a visible identification badge provided by the NIST Security Office.

Vehicle Registration: All Contractor employees must register their vehicles with the NIST Security Office to gain access to the campus. A valid driver’s license, Government-furnished civilian ID, proof of insurance and current registration must be presented to the NIST Security Office, at which time a NIST vehicle pass will be issued. The pass shall be displayed on the vehicle in accordance with NIST Security Office instructions.